The revolutionary Red Army came into being in August 1927. On the basis of Mao Zedong's theory of 'people's war', it was to have both a political and social role: from distributing propaganda among the masses to arming them and helping them establish revolutionary political power. During both the civil war, and the campaigns against the Japanese, guerilla warfare was waged according to Mao Zedong's Ten Principles of War:

Attack isolated enemy forces first, attack strong enemy forces later

Take towns and rural areas first, take big cities later

Wiping out the enemy's strength is the main objective, not seizing territory